Sussan Tahmasebi, an award-winning Iranian women’s rights activist, said the abundant presence of women in the Swedish delegation sent a powerful message to Iran. “The sensitivity around this issue is important because women should have been present among the Iranian delegation,” she said.

Rouhani has a number of women in his cabinet serving as his vice-presidents, including Shahindokht Molaverdi, who has been outspoken about women’s rights, but no female ministers– and none accompanied him at Saturday’s panel. Löfven met Molaverdi in a separate meeting in Tehran on Sunday.

In 2015 Rouhani’s foreign ministry appointed Iran’s first female ambassador since the 1979 Islamic revolution, marking a breakthrough for women in government.

Leila Alikarami, who monitors women’s rights in Iran, said Rouhani’s all-male delegation was particularly disappointing given his campaign promises to promote the cause.

“Molaverdi has a long experience in women’s affairs but she is not given enough powers,” Alikarami said, referring to the vice president. “She faces a lot of obstacles. Women’s rights is not this system’s priority, it only comes up at election time.”

Alikarami also said the visiting female diplomats should not have been forced to wear hijabs. “There should be a freedom of choice for all women,” she said. “They should not face discrimination because of their gender.”

Wearing the hijab has been an integral policy of the Islamic republic ever since the 1979 revolution and foreign female visitors from prime ministers to celebrities have adhered to it while on Iranian territory.

Members of the Swedish delegation, particularly trade minister Ann Linde, faced criticism in Sweden for covering their hair.

But Tahmasebi said it was important for the women to attend. “If [the] Swedish women hadn’t gone to Tehran, the meeting would have taken place without them, but with male officials. It’s important that Iran would have relations with Sweden, a country that pursues feministic foreign policy,” she added.

It is not the first time this year that the Swedish government has drawn applause for its gender equality. Earlier this month Sweden’s deputy prime minister, Isabella Lovin, posted a photograph of herself and her female colleagues after she signed a bill protecting the environment. The image was widely shared online and taken as a wry comment on pictures of Donald Trump’s all-male Oval Office team.